El Alto | Queer: Gender Sexuality and the Arts in the Americas

Canada
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Section Title
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BUDDIES
IN BAD TIMES
40 years of queer theatre
40 años de teatro queer
Established in 1979, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
is a professional Canadian theatre company
dedicated to the development and presentation
of queer theatre. The largest and longest running
queer theatre in the world, Buddies has made
an unparalleled contribution to the recognition
and acceptance of queer lives in Canada and
is Toronto’s leading destination for artistically
rigorous alternative theatre. The recipient of
the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for the Arts,
the Michael Lynch Award for Queer History, and
multiple Dora Mavor Moore Awards, Buddies has
been consistently recognized by both the arts
and queer communities for it contributions to
Canadian culture.
For 40 years, Buddies has challenged the status
quo by making queer art and queer voices part
of Canada’s cultural landscape. Initially nomadic,
the company found a permanent home for
Canadian queer theatre at 12 Alexander Street in
1994. After Founding Artistic Director Sky Gilbert
stepped down, four successive artistic leaders
(Sarah Garton Stanley, 1997-1999; David Oiye,
2000-2009; Brendan Healy, 2010-2015; currently,
Evalyn Parry) have each marked a distinct
creative era for the company. Through its season
of main stage productions, artist development
programmes, and new works festivals, the
company has premiered over 1,000 new works for
the stage. Buddies has also welcomed over one
million people through the doors of its theatre
in the heart of Toronto’s LGBTQI+ village.
Currently, the company offers a full season of
theatrical productions, including three annual
festivals and showcases – the Queer Pride
Festival, the 2-Spirit Cabaret of work by queer
and 2-Spirtit Indigenous artists, and The Rhubarb
Festival which at 41 years old is Canada’s longestrunning
festival of new and experimental theatre.
Buddies is also a vital source of queer innovation
Evalyn Parry © Tanja Tiziana